Metastasis
Chair: Melanie Gephardt-Hayden, MD, and Adam Robin, MD
Members: Kalil Abdullah, MD, Ajay Niranjan, MD, MBA, Maryam Rahman, MD, MS, and Gelareh Zadeh, MD, PhD
Objective
To integrate the neurosurgery leadership community with groups advancing the treatment and research of brain metastases.
Initiatives
- Representation at annual professional group meetings collaborating in the care of patients with BrM (e.g., ASTRO, ASCO, SNO, ASCO/SNO Brain Metastasis meeting, etc.)
- Meeting with NCI leadership to advocate for the BrM Tumor Section member involvement in discussions regarding BrM research and treatment advances (e.g., PMID 37541280)
- Active involvement in mentorship programs for academic physician-scientists interested in the study of BrM (e.g., K12, R25, Academy Investigators)
- BrM Subcommittee email to connect Tumor Section members with Patient Advocates as needed for grant/trial submissions or community engagement, industry sponsors for clinical trials, and foundations for focused funding
- Partner with national and regional centers to join a BrM collaborative network (CNS Metastasis Centers).
- Identify standardized outcome measures, including patient/trial data
- Increase the number of clinical trials available for patients with BrM
- BrM Subcommittee as active participants in cross/multidisciplinary trials, and panels set to define standard of care (e.g., PMID 38459978)
- Work to standardize coding and reporting to improve veracity of available data and properly define the scope of incoming challenges in BrM treatment